“Be it resolved, the Transboundary Technical Sub-committee agrees to collaborate with the EU-PAPFor and USAID-WABiLED funded projects for the purpose of establishing joint transboundary patrols and developing a harmonized approach for land-use for the Greater Gola Landscape consistent with the attached action plans…,” the MoU states.
The Government of Sierra Leone, through the National Protected Area Authority (NPAA) and Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL), successfully organised a two-day Transboundary Technical Sub-committee meeting at Sierra Bay Hotel in Freetown on 16th and 17th August, 2023. The meeting, which was supported by the USAID-WABiLED and EU-PAPFor funded projects, aimed at developing sustainable solutions to the perennial protection challenges plaguing the Transboundary Gola Landscape.
Participants were drawn from relevant institutions in Sierra Leone, Liberia and the UK, including the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, NPAA, Forestry Development Authority (FDA), West Africa Biodiversity and Low Emissions Development (WABiLED), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the EU delegation in Sierra Leone, the Mano River Union (MRU), BirdLife International, Greater Gola Landscape community leaders, Gola Rainforest Conservation Limited by Guarantee (GRC-LG), the Society for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia (SCNL), and the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL), among others.
Key among the issues discussed included the overall objectives and purpose of the Transboundary Sub-committee, building on the Peace Accord Agreement between the two countries, reviewing the implementation status of the action plans developed in the first Technical Sub-Committee meeting in Liberia, law enforcement and implementation strategies that should support transboundary patrols, participatory land-use planning and mapping, and planning for policy action within the Gola Landscape. Furthermore, community integration and participation in law enforcement initiatives, and the need for more public education and awareness regarding the importance of transboundary cooperation were also very prominent throughout the discussions.
The stakeholders emphasized the need to consider the peace facet of the Agreement and leveraging on existing structures like the MRU to enhance transboundary-related activities, especially for facilitating joint border patrols. “…serious emphasis must be directed to the importance of strengthening our local structures in terms of capacity and their involvement in conservation initiatives in making informed decisions. I believe that our people should be considered as actors rather than just beneficiaries in the management of the transboundary landscape”, Chief Alamin Kanneh, Paramount Chief of Koya chiefdom, Kenema district emphasised.
